Manchester: Manchester United defender Chris Smalling is not worried about the England snub and is rather focusing on re-establishing himself as a vital cog in the Red Devils lineup.
Smalling was not part of the England squad for the summer’s World Cup in Russia and has been overlooked for games against Spain and Switzerland this season.
“It’s obviously difficult (watching the World Cup), I am not going to lie,” Smalling was quoted as saying.
“You want to be involved for a top club, you want to be involved for your country as well and it was a disappointment, but I had to turn it into a positive to a point where I have my rest and I have a full pre-season which I have not had for a while. It was a difficult time but you have to try and take the positives.”
“I haven’t had any discussions (with Southgate) but I am lucky I play for a top club and we have got lots of games and that’s where all my focus is going to be now because Man United is my sole focus right now,” Smalling stated.
“I felt last year I played a lot of games and I hope this year to play a lot of games and as much as I can.”
Smalling will be part of the United squad that travels to Switzerland Tuesday to kick off their Champions League campaign. The players will play on the 3G surface at the Stade de Suisse Wankdorf ahead of the meeting with the Swiss champions Wednesday.
“I have played on a 3G pitch for England against Lithuania a couple of times,” added Smalling. “We will be travelling over a little earlier to make sure we train on that pitch so we can get used to it, but on the back of two away wins (against Burnley and Watford) I think we can build that momentum at a crucial time of the month where there are so many games.”